Bookmarkable URLThe 'cuvette'-type vases were often produced in pairs and may have been filled with fresh natural flowers or lavish porcelain flowers which were also produced at the Sèvres manufactory. This particular model is named after the marquis de Courteille, the King’s representative in charge of the Vincennes/Sèvres manufactory, to whom the first example of this model was also presented in December 1753. The bulbous vases are decorated with a highly intricate gilded diaper pattern framing stylized flowers on the sides, while the rest of the body is covered with a bright blue 'bleu Fallot' ground. Invented in 1764 by Jean Armand Fallot, this colour usually comes in combination with a so-called 'incrusté' flower decoration (here in the centre on both sides), which is painted directly onto areas where the ground colour has been scraped away.